I travelled on a business trip to china, I met a Nigerian boy(Kingsley). Kingsley said he will be 29 years by October this year, A graduate of political science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, He had moved to China after finding it difficult to secure a white collar job in Nigeria immediately after his national youth service. Kingsley said he had come to china hoping to find job or better still hustle. He said he had to sell off a small piece of land , the only landed property his late father left for him just to make up funds to come live in China.

Kingsley is one of so many Nigerians loitering the streets of china looking for people who have come to trade in Guangzhou that will stay in their apartment and have him volunteer to take them around core places of their business interest for a fee. When you come to china staying in a hotel is the best option you can take. I did that but I sort of found it difficult in communicating with the factory workers in English and I needed someone who could hear English and translate to them in Chinese. A young sells lady in the factory volunteered to help me call a Nigerian who can fit in that position and that was how I met Kinsley.


When she called him on the phone, it took 15mins and he arrived , I was impressed . For the rest of the days he was coming every morning to take me around the various places I needed to buy goods from. He would speak plenty of Chinese with them and told me he was bargaining for the fairest price. I thought he was helping and I use to thank him a lot. I didn’t know that for every purchase I made Kingsley has a percentage that was agreed between him and the sellers. So he was really eager to help and that surprised me too.

This sort of hustle in China is called SAMPA... I have asked and no one was able to give me a definite definition of that term. I search even in dictionary but couldn’t find any. Sampa boys are just people mostly Nigerians who have to china with 1 month business visa ,their visa had expired and they take to hiding in China. I really want this post to educate people especially the young Nigerians who are misled on a daily basis. I want the youth to know that there is no easy life anywhere, the quest to go to just anywhere must stop, have you made research about these countries you are headed ? Mind you, the current population of the People’s Republic of China is estimated to be about 1,390,510,630.

China’s population makes up around 19.3% of the world’s population. I later found out that he lady that called Kinsley to come and assist me was his wife and that Kinsley leaves with the lady in their family house (with her father and mother) the lady should be over 40yrs and Kinsley is 28/29, a graduate from Nigeria, can you beat that ! Their daily hustle is on Nigerians who have come to do business.

Infact Kinsley added a percentage that was rather too much that another chinese man had to call my attention to it and asked if that man were truly my brother. The chinese man opened up and told me about how Nigerians survive in china, he said many are in prison with no one seeking to bail them , some have no money to even come back, some were caught for drug related offences, tried in court and sentenced without their family or even Nigerian embassy knowing because they had been leaving illegally in China. Indeed Nigerians notoriety in China is unprecedented .

What i found difficult to understand was the fact that a graduate can actually descend that low just to keep going . My question is which life is better , Leaving in Nigeria or China ? I saw many hawking jellof rice and they only sell at night because they are illegal , at the end they use the money they made from selling jellof rice to club, smoke and drink, is that life ? when you ask them they say they prefer to leave in China because food is cheap . is life all about food ?

We need to start re-orienting people and our government must create jobs. Our youths are wasting in China. We can send people to learn and better themselves in china and not depend on some SAMPA. What is sampa that a Nigerian will sell his pride and cheat a fellow Nigerian just to make mere 10,20,30,40 ,50 $ ? Who are we to ourselves ?
If they manage to make 100$ then that will hold them for another 4 months , is that life ?

not new at all n d only new tin is d unusually long write up.

n one orishi rishi nairalander will now quote everything

2pence: I travelled on a business trip to china, I met a Nigerian boy(Kingsley). Kingsley said he will be 29 years by October this year, A graduate of political science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, He had moved to China after finding it difficult to secure a white collar job in Nigeria immediately after his national youth service. Kingsley said he had come to china hoping to find job or better still hustle. He said he had to sell off a small piece of land , the only landed property his late father left for him just to make up funds to come live in China.
Kingsley is one of so many Nigerians loitering the streets of china looking for people who have come to trade in Guangzhou that will stay in their apartment and have him volunteer to take them around core places of their business interest for a fee. When you come to china staying in a hotel is the best option you can take. I did that but I sort of found it difficult in communicating with the factory workers in English and I needed someone who could hear English and translate to them in Chinese. A young sells lady in the factory volunteered to help me call a Nigerian who can fit in that position and that was how I met Kinsley.
When she called him on the phone, it took 15mins and he arrived , I was impressed . For the rest of the days he was coming every morning to take me around the various places I needed to buy goods from. He would speak plenty of Chinese with them and told me he was bargaining for the fairest price. I thought he was helping and I use to thank him a lot. I didn’t know that for every purchase I made Kingsley has a percentage that was agreed between him and the sellers. So he was really eager to help and that surprised me too.
This sort of hustle in China is called SAMPA... I have asked and no one was able to give me a definite definition of that term. I search even in dictionary but couldn’t find any. Sampa boys are just people mostly Nigerians who have to china with 1 month business visa ,their visa had expired and they take to hiding in China. I really want this post to educate people especially the young Nigerians who are misled on a daily basis. I want the youth to know that there is no easy life anywhere, the quest to go to just anywhere must stop, have you made research about these countries you are headed ? Mind you, the current population of the People’s Republic of China is estimated to be about 1,390,510,630.
China’s population makes up around 19.3% of the world’s population. I later found out that he lady that called Kinsley to come and assist me was his wife and that Kinsley leaves with the lady in their family house (with her father and mother) the lady should be over 40yrs and Kinsley is 28/29, a graduate from Nigeria, can you beat that ! Their daily hustle is on Nigerians who have come to do business.
Infact Kinsley added a percentage that was rather too much that another chinese man had to call my attention to it and asked if that man were truly my brother. The chinese man opened up and told me about how Nigerians survive in china, he said many are in prison with no one seeking to bail them , some have no money to even come back, some were caught for drug related offences, tried in court and sentenced without their family or even Nigerian embassy knowing because they had been leaving illegally in China. Indeed Nigerians notoriety in China is unprecedented .
What i found difficult to understand was the fact that a graduate can actually descend that low just to keep going . My question is which life is better , Leaving in Nigeria or China ? I saw many hawking jellof rice and they only sell at night because they are illegal , at the end they use the money they made from selling jellof rice to club, smoke and drink, is that life ? when you ask them they say they prefer to leave in China because food is cheap . is life all about food ?
We need to start re-orienting people and our government must create jobs. Our youths are wasting in China. We can send people to learn and better themselves in china and not depend on some SAMPA. What is sampa that a Nigerian will sell his pride and cheat a fellow Nigerian just to make mere 10,20,30,40 ,50 $ ? Who are we to ourselves ?
If they manage to make 100$ then that will hold them for another 4 months , is that life ?

wow. quite a touching story. u did a very good thing sharing ur experience. its sad what our youths go tru in foreign countries all in the name of hustling and trying to make it in life. to think a fellow nigerian will collude with a chinese lady to dupe his fellow nigerian is the lowest point of desperation. nigerians have never had life rough like since after the military. we had a better standard of living during the military regime. all this pot bellied corrupt politicians of the 21st century have succeeded of robbing nigerians of their glorious destiny and better life. we need to do something, else nothing will change even in the next 30yrs to come. it will be busniesss as usual for politicians and the populace.

*my 2 cents*

Hmmmm OP am just speechless..

Space

#Modified

I understand your problem oga. But the first thing I want to correct you on is that Nigerians WILL cheat you. Be they the ones in China, SA, USA, London or Naija here, dem go cheat you....

In fact anywhere you go to and you don't understand the language, expect to be cheated. Nobody sabi who brother be when money dey involved.

That being said, it's really pathetic the length people will go to run out of this country. The grass may look greener on the other side, but looks can be deceiving. It makes no sense to leave one place for another when you have no long term plans. In fact, it's a really d.umb move.

I could go on and on, but I no wan follow OP write epistle. I feel your pain and I'm as baffled as you are concerning the desperation shown by Nigerians in a country where all you need is determination and being at the right place at the right time to succeed. The likes of Innoson, Coscharis and Seun Osewa didn't nedd to leave the shores os this country to succeed and the likes of Burna Boy and Banky W had to come here to succeed, so what's their excuse?

story for the gods

Nice one op. Hope our boiz will see dis

In african china voice ====> our government bad oh they no wan gv ghetto man job oh cause if ghetto man no get work my brother nah hw he go take survive if not samba.

It's quite pathetic.

Austindark: ...

sorry!

hmmm really true i'have been there, my guide was a young man named chuks, a real hustler.
Nigerians also suffer alot in china., i hope that one day the nigerian government would wake up to its responsibilities.
God help us.

so sad...can't blame them though.

ehya 😭😭

Man must chop

As long as we have this present crop of politicians ruling our country, such will always continue and this thing also boils down to personal will...Sampa, what an adjective!!!

justi4jesu: Long......still reading

And tomorrow you will end up in the streets of one obscure city. Just this small piece article that will increase your knowledge is what you are lamenting "long".

.

SAMPA should be a name of a dance. Like SHOKI, SKELEWU.

In other news, if u meet any KINGSLEY for china,Run oo

Hmmmm...an eye opener...

The SAMPA BOYS are wasting/faking out in china...

I gess the SAMBA BOYS are the real niggaz...

Did u preach this To Kingsley

First off I feel sorry for u @op, but the whole blame should be on you.
If as a visitor to a country that has a different language to English, then when booking u should've asked a for guide/ translator to help u with communication. I bet it wouldn't cost half of what u paid for hotel, But most of d time we turn a blind eye to these little details that break hearts.
U can't blame kingsley for what he did, he had to take care of his 40yr old wife and her family right?
sorry for ur loss bro. learn from it and move on!




Sorry for typo errors................ using phone to comment.

Abeggi, every aboki with him own kettle.

@op, thanks for bringing this to the notice of many Nigerians, not all Nigerians in diaspora are doing well, life isn't easy anywhere in this world, if there can be homeless Americans living in New york and chicago, then where can we not find poverty or decadence, we should learn to build what we have, Nigeria will not be built by foreigners, Nigeria will be built by Nigerians, we have to change our way of thinking. It's pathetic how Nigerians behave in different parts of the world, are we the only black people in this world? We should have some sense of dignity, haba, una no dey shame?

*policing the thread against bigots

I can only say SAMPA

Dm sampa boys booking space

I don't know about you oh. But as for Me and my family, there is too much money to be made in Naija that we only travel abroad for vacation.

Hoping all the 'Kingleys' read this and make necessary u-turn. Sampa-ism is no true business.